Election Countdown 2012: New York Residents Block Construction on Proposed Pipeline, and More

Today in the Election Countdown: For five consecutive days, Minisink residents in New York have managed to seriously delay construction on a pipeline by physically blocking the entrance to the site of its proposed compressor station; a lawsuit in Arkansas contends that fracking waste spreads as much as several miles in an underground ‘reservoir’ that lies under land of people who have not been paid any consideration for waste that has migrated under their property; Occupy Atlanta helps a retired detective avoid losing her home; and more.

Mission elapsed time: T + 31 and counting*

If someday it may happen that a victim must be foundI’ve got a little list, I’ve got a little listOf society’s offenders who may well be undergroundAnd who never would be missed, they never would be missed. –Gilbert & Sullivan, The Mikado

FL. Swing state: “Obama won Miami-Dade by more than 139,000 votes ­– nearly 60 percent of his statewide victory margin and the biggest margin of any FL county. Compare that with John Kerry in 2004, who won here by nearly 49,000 votes, and Al Gore ­– damaged by the Clinton-Gore administration’s decision to return Elian to Cuba ­– who in 2000 won it by about 39,000. The bad news for the president? If he fails to match it this November, FL’s 29 electoral votes ­may flip to Romney.” … Voting: “But it’s not blatant fraud that has elections experts worried about possible voting mayhem [in FL] come November. Rather, it’s the re-registration of voters, where personal information such as someone’s party affiliation, signature or address could have been changed without the person’s knowledge.”

OH. Privatization: “Corrections Corporation of America [operator of the nation's first privately-owned state prison] has been firmly rebuked by OH officials for conditions at Lake Erie Correctional Facility in Conneau. Cells were dirty, inmates lacked clean laundry and blankets, pots and pans weren’t clean, doors were standing open, and keys were missing.” … Voting: “According to newly-issued Directive 2012-48, Boards of Election wishing to notify a voter of mistakes on his/her absentee ballot can only do so ‘in writing by first class mail.’ The very first question on an absentee ballot request form is for Phone Number, which the form says is “Recommended”. And the online request form asks for both phone number and email address. If they aren’t allowed to use the information to help speed up the process and help quickly notify voters of mistakes on their ballots, then why bother asking for it?”

PA. Police blotter: “In the video, Schultz can be heard asking, ‘Did they just deck the bride?’ and then stating: ‘They just decked the bride.’” The city that loves you back! … Charters: “Gov. Tom Corbett’s education chief changed the [Pennsylvania System of School Assessment] testing rules in a way that makes it easier for charter schools to meet federal benchmarks than traditional public schools.” One hand washes the other. … Debt: “A hearing before the state Senate committee on local government might be the closest the people of Harrisburg ever come to justice for the botched incinerator retrofit that has left the capital city saddled with more than $340 million in debt. Depending on whom you believe, the retrofit of the city’s incinerator was done with the best of intentions and the blame belongs to now-bankrupt Barlow Construction, the firm hired to conduct the retrofit. Or it is a tangled web of financial interests, parties hellbent on getting the project done, whatever the cost. A conspiracy of consultants and politicians benefiting from the public’s largess” (PT). Hmm… I’m thinking it over…

VA. Police state: “A VA man spent four hours in jail after purchasing a Chevrolet Traverse from Priority Chevrolet in Chesapeake, VA. The dealer’s sales staff accidentally sold the SUV to Danny Sawyer for $5,600 less than they should have, and when Sawyer refused to sign a new, more expensive contract for the correct amount, the dealership called the local police alleging the buyer had stolen the vehicle.”

Outside Baseball.Charters: “The School to Prison Pipeline is a nationwide system of local, state and federal education and public safety policies that pushes students out of school and into the criminal justice system. This system disproportionately targets youth of color and youth with disabilities. Inequities in areas such as school discipline, policing practices, high-stakes testing and the prison industry contribute to the pipeline.” Charters, corruption, mass incarceration; nice company for Bill and Melinda! … Demand: “While all the talk is about pipelines, oil trains are quietly chugging into more and more stretches of the country. Wherever there’s a refinery and a nearby set of tracks, you can be sure that oil and gas companies are working to link them to the booming shale wells. [A]bove all else, demand is what drives the oil boom.” … Competition: “In that great come-and-get-it-day, all schools will be excellent when they compete. That’s why all those programs on all those channels on your TV dial are excellent, and why every product in the marketplace is excellent. Ah, the glories of deregulation!” … ObamaCare: “Analysts say many other companies, including the White Castle hamburger chain, are considering employing fewer full-timers because of key features of the Affordable Care Act scheduled to go into effect in 2014. Under that law, large companies must provide affordable health insurance to employees working an average of at least 30 hours per week. Darden said its goal at the test restaurants is to keep employees at 28 hours a week.” But that’s OK! They can buy junk insurance on the exchanges with the rest of the proles!

The Romney.Crowds: “‘People wonder why it is I’m so confident we’re going to win,’ said Romney, the heavy rain soaking him just moments after he took the stage.’I'm confident because I see you here on a day like this. This is unbelievable! Thank you so much!’” Suddenly, Romney starts getting favorable press. It’s a horse race!

Election Countdown 2012: New York Residents Block Construction on Proposed Pipeline, and More

Today in the Election Countdown: For five consecutive days, Minisink residents in New York have managed to seriously delay construction on a pipeline by physically blocking the entrance to the site of its proposed compressor station; a lawsuit in Arkansas contends that fracking waste spreads as much as several miles in an underground ‘reservoir’ that lies under land of people who have not been paid any consideration for waste that has migrated under their property; Occupy Atlanta helps a retired detective avoid losing her home; and more.

Mission elapsed time: T + 31 and counting*

If someday it may happen that a victim must be foundI’ve got a little list, I’ve got a little listOf society’s offenders who may well be undergroundAnd who never would be missed, they never would be missed. –Gilbert & Sullivan, The Mikado

FL. Swing state: “Obama won Miami-Dade by more than 139,000 votes ­– nearly 60 percent of his statewide victory margin and the biggest margin of any FL county. Compare that with John Kerry in 2004, who won here by nearly 49,000 votes, and Al Gore ­– damaged by the Clinton-Gore administration’s decision to return Elian to Cuba ­– who in 2000 won it by about 39,000. The bad news for the president? If he fails to match it this November, FL’s 29 electoral votes ­may flip to Romney.” … Voting: “But it’s not blatant fraud that has elections experts worried about possible voting mayhem [in FL] come November. Rather, it’s the re-registration of voters, where personal information such as someone’s party affiliation, signature or address could have been changed without the person’s knowledge.”

OH. Privatization: “Corrections Corporation of America [operator of the nation's first privately-owned state prison] has been firmly rebuked by OH officials for conditions at Lake Erie Correctional Facility in Conneau. Cells were dirty, inmates lacked clean laundry and blankets, pots and pans weren’t clean, doors were standing open, and keys were missing.” … Voting: “According to newly-issued Directive 2012-48, Boards of Election wishing to notify a voter of mistakes on his/her absentee ballot can only do so ‘in writing by first class mail.’ The very first question on an absentee ballot request form is for Phone Number, which the form says is “Recommended”. And the online request form asks for both phone number and email address. If they aren’t allowed to use the information to help speed up the process and help quickly notify voters of mistakes on their ballots, then why bother asking for it?”

PA. Police blotter: “In the video, Schultz can be heard asking, ‘Did they just deck the bride?’ and then stating: ‘They just decked the bride.’” The city that loves you back! … Charters: “Gov. Tom Corbett’s education chief changed the [Pennsylvania System of School Assessment] testing rules in a way that makes it easier for charter schools to meet federal benchmarks than traditional public schools.” One hand washes the other. … Debt: “A hearing before the state Senate committee on local government might be the closest the people of Harrisburg ever come to justice for the botched incinerator retrofit that has left the capital city saddled with more than $340 million in debt. Depending on whom you believe, the retrofit of the city’s incinerator was done with the best of intentions and the blame belongs to now-bankrupt Barlow Construction, the firm hired to conduct the retrofit. Or it is a tangled web of financial interests, parties hellbent on getting the project done, whatever the cost. A conspiracy of consultants and politicians benefiting from the public’s largess” (PT). Hmm… I’m thinking it over…

VA. Police state: “A VA man spent four hours in jail after purchasing a Chevrolet Traverse from Priority Chevrolet in Chesapeake, VA. The dealer’s sales staff accidentally sold the SUV to Danny Sawyer for $5,600 less than they should have, and when Sawyer refused to sign a new, more expensive contract for the correct amount, the dealership called the local police alleging the buyer had stolen the vehicle.”

Outside Baseball.Charters: “The School to Prison Pipeline is a nationwide system of local, state and federal education and public safety policies that pushes students out of school and into the criminal justice system. This system disproportionately targets youth of color and youth with disabilities. Inequities in areas such as school discipline, policing practices, high-stakes testing and the prison industry contribute to the pipeline.” Charters, corruption, mass incarceration; nice company for Bill and Melinda! … Demand: “While all the talk is about pipelines, oil trains are quietly chugging into more and more stretches of the country. Wherever there’s a refinery and a nearby set of tracks, you can be sure that oil and gas companies are working to link them to the booming shale wells. [A]bove all else, demand is what drives the oil boom.” … Competition: “In that great come-and-get-it-day, all schools will be excellent when they compete. That’s why all those programs on all those channels on your TV dial are excellent, and why every product in the marketplace is excellent. Ah, the glories of deregulation!” … ObamaCare: “Analysts say many other companies, including the White Castle hamburger chain, are considering employing fewer full-timers because of key features of the Affordable Care Act scheduled to go into effect in 2014. Under that law, large companies must provide affordable health insurance to employees working an average of at least 30 hours per week. Darden said its goal at the test restaurants is to keep employees at 28 hours a week.” But that’s OK! They can buy junk insurance on the exchanges with the rest of the proles!

The Romney.Crowds: “‘People wonder why it is I’m so confident we’re going to win,’ said Romney, the heavy rain soaking him just moments after he took the stage.’I'm confident because I see you here on a day like this. This is unbelievable! Thank you so much!’” Suddenly, Romney starts getting favorable press. It’s a horse race!